The Day After Easter by John Avant

My wife and I have slept on the same bed for almost twenty years.

It was time for a new one.

A nice delivery man brought our new bed to us on Saturday. When he finished setting it up,  I wished him a happy Easter and he looked surprised and said to me, “Is Easter tomorrow?”  I said to him, “Yes! Just think about it. Jesus died and rose for you and will come into your heart and give you new life!” 

It did not seem to mean much to him.

Imagine being completely oblivious to the one thing that is the key to everything!

But are we much different?

It’s Monday. The day after Easter. Will today be different in your life because of yesterday?

It can be!

In Luke 23, there is the beautiful story of the thief on the cross, who places his faith in Jesus. And Jesus says to him, “Today you will be with me in Paradise.” 

Paradise.

Have you ever thought about what that means? The leaders of the early church thought about it. A lot. Almost every one of the early church fathers wrote about something that we rarely think about at all.  

Paradise has been re-opened!

When Adam and Eve sinned, all of us fell under the curse. All of us were expelled from paradise. But now the curse has been broken! And we don’t have to wait to go to heaven to live in paradise. 

Because Paradise is not a place now. It is a position!  

Paradise is living in the presence of God. 

“And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.” ‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭2‬:‭6‬ ‭

Now, not in the future! 

Certainly there is more to paradise than what we can have on this earth, but we don’t have to wait to get started.

Ask the Lord right now to help you live with Him today. In Him. He in you. And you will live today in a paradise that no evil power or painful circumstance can take away from you. 

In the fourth century, a man named Cyril of Jerusalem wrote instructions for new believers which are powerful and beautiful. I leave you today with a few of his beautiful words that are just as important for you as they were for believers back then:

“ The tree brought ruin to Adam. It will bring you into paradise. Do not fear the serpent. He will not throw you out, for he has fallen…Take heart; you will not be thrown out. Do not fear the flaming sword, because it stands in awe of its Lord.“

Don’t be afraid. Don’t do today on your own. It’s the day after Easter. 

And for you and me it’s another day in paradise if we choose to live in His presence.